Thursday, September 1, 2011

One of the things my students find incredible about the English language is that a figure like zero should have so many different names. Have you ever come to think about it? I don’t know if this happens in other languages, but at least it doesn’t happen in Spanish...

It’s not only that it has many names, but also they are used in different contexts. Let’s have a look:

Zero. This word derives from the Arab word sifr, meaning “empty”. It is mainly used in mathematics: counting, percentages, decimals..., and also when talking about the temperature: 0º C (zero degrees Celsius)

Nought or naught in American English is an older word for zero. It comes from Old English nowiht, meaning “nothing”. Today, its use is very similar to that of zero. He wrote a cheque with a figure containing five noughts. The famous game tic-tac-toe in which the players try to make a line of three noughts or crosses between vertical and horizontal lines is also called nougths and crosses.

Noughts and crosses
Image in http://www.flickr.com/photos/49719028@N00/103958463

Nil comes from Latin nihil , meaning “nothing”. It is used in sports such as football, especially in British English. They won by three goals to nil.

O (often spelled oh) is used when giving telephone numbers and addresses, talking about time and also in the designation of James Bond: 007 (double o seven). It’s 4:09 (four oh nine). I live at 207 Melbourne Avenue (two oh seven).